It was the old lady's birthday. She got up early to be ready for the post. From the second floor flat she could see the postman when he came down the street, and a little boy, Johnnie,1her letters from the ground floor on the rare 2when anything came.

    Today she was sure there would be something. Myra 3 forget her mother's birthday, even if she 4 wrote at other times. Of course Myra was busy, but 5 Enid, the daughter the old lady loved most, died two years ago. Since then Myra had seen her mother three times, but her husband, Harold, never.

    The old lady was eighty this day. She had put on her best dress. Perhaps ―perhaps Myra might come. After all, eighty was a 6 birthday, another decade lined or tolerated just as you chose to look at it.7 Myra did not come, she would send a present. The old lady was 8 of that. Two spots of colour 9 her cheeks. She was 10 like a child. She would enjoy her day!

    Now, she stood by the window,11 The postman turned round the corner on his bicycle. Her heart beat 12 Johnnie saw him too and ran to the gate. Then clatter (咔嗒声), clatter up the stairs. Johnnie knocked at her door. He had got her post four envelopes. Three were unclosed cards from old friends. The fourth was closed, in Myra's writing. The old lady felt a sharp pain of13There was no parcel for her! Maybe the parcel was too large to come by letter post. That was it. It would come later by parcel post. She said to herself. She must be14.

    Almost 15 she tore the envelope open.16 in the card was a piece of paper. Written on the card was a message under the printed Happy Birthday —Buy yourself something nice with the 17, Myra and Harold. The cheque moved quickly to the floor like a bird with a broken wing. Slowly the old lady 18 to pick it up. Her present! her 19 present! With 20 fingers she tore it into little bits.

    One day, a well-known speaker was invited to give a lecture to an audience of 200. He started his lecture by 1 a $ 20 bill. He looked around the room, and asked, "Who would like this $20 bill? "

    2 started going up.

    He said, "I am going to 3 this $20 to one of you, but first, let me do this." He crumpled up (揉皱) the 20-dollar bill. He then asked, "Who 4 wants it?" Still the hands were 5 in the air.

    "Well", he replied,"6 I do this?" And he dropped it on the 7and started to step on it with his shoes. He picked it up. Now it was crumpled and 8.

    "Now, who wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.

    "My friends, we have all learned a very 9 lesson. No matter what I did to the 10, you still want it because it doesn't decrease in 11. It is still worth $20, with 12 we can buy what we need.

    Many times in our lives, we are 13 and trampled underfoot by the decision we 14 and the circumstances that come our way. We feel 15 we were worthless. But no matter what has happened or what may happen to us, you will never 16 your value. Dirty or clean, you are still priceless to those who do love you. The worth of our lives is determined not by 17 we do or who we know, but by who we are. You are 18. Don't ever forget it."

    If you 19 this lesson in mind, it will help you to 20 again when you fall. Each time it makes you grow much stronger.

    George Springer helped his team Houston Astros win the World Series in 2017. He was awarded the Most Valuable Player, 1 his struggle is mostly hidden. His 2 is not in trying to hit a fastball, but in 3 it. He stutters(口吃).

    Growing up in Connecticut, Springer was the kid who would 4 raise his hand in school, the kid 5 every time he opened his mouth.

    "I was the guy who didn't talk," he said. "I would 6 speaking at all costs."

    He was often 7. Sometimes he was bullied(欺侮). The phone was suffering to him. 8were worse. If he wanted a dish that he knew would be tough to say, he would 9. If he was with his family, his sister Nicole would 10 for him.

    He remembers a couple of attempts at speech therapy(语言治疗), but he said he was 11 with encouraging parents, an ability to 12 himself in sports, and a small group of friends who 13.

    "If therapy works for you, 14. But for me, I also developed my own 15 to handle it," he said. "Besides, when I was around all my friends, it didn't really seem to 16 them. If I did it, they would 17 until I was done, then finish the conversation."

    To help other kids 18 the same issue, Springer frequently appeared in interviews and even agreed to wear a microphone 19 during the 2017 All-Star Game. He then added "I can't let anything in life I can't 20 slow me down or stop me from being who I want to be." These 22 words proved it.

    My husband and I have little money lately. We haven't 1 out for a while, so we went to a 2 last night.

    When we saw the 3, we knew we could only afford to get a small pizza, so we would have enough money left for 4. Before long our pizza that was cut to 4 pieces arrived. My husband wanted to act like a 5, so he would like to put a piece of 6 on my plate. Unluckily it dropped onto the 7. I knew he would be 8 about others' opinions on him. I told him, "Honey, don't let other people 9 us. We still have three pieces left."

    The manager 10 this and came over with a broom (扫帚). He 11 the pizza and said he was 12 that the oven (烤箱) had been turned off, or he would have 13 another pizza for us. At the end of our meal he 14 to our table again to thank us for being here. Then he 15 us one coupon (优惠券) for a free small pizza. We were 16because he could have chosen a 17 attitude (态度) when he saw the pizza we dropped during their closing time. Instead he chose to make sure we could left 18. My husband was going to give him tips for our meal that we had prepared, 19 the manager didn't take them. To some people it might not be important, but to us it meant a lot. Our rare treat of enjoying a night out was made more 20.

    It's about 250 miles from the hills of west-central Iowa to Ehlers' home in Minnesota. During the long trip home, following a weekend of hunting. Ehlers 1about the small dog he had seen 2alongside the road. He had 3to coax(哄) the dog to him but, frightened, it had 4.

    Back home, Ehlers was troubled by that 5dog. So, four days later, he called his friend Greg, and the two drove 6. After a long and careful 7, Greg saw, across a field, the dog moving 8away. Ehlers eventually succeeded in coaxing the animal to him. Nervousness and fear were replaced with 9. It just started licking(舔) Ehlers' face.

    A local farmer told them the dog sounded like one 10as lost in the local paper. The ad had a 11number for a town in southern Michigan. Ehlers 12the number of Jeff and Lisa to tell them he had 13their dog.

    Jeff had 14in Iowa before Thanksgiving with his dog, Rosie, but the gun shots had scared the dog off. Jeff searched 15for Rosie in the next four days.

    Ehlers returned to Minnesota, and then drove 100 miles to Minneapolis to put Rosie on a flight to Michigan. "It's good to know there's still someone out there who 16enough to go to that kind of 17,"says Lisa of Ehlers' rescue 18.

    "I figured whoever lost the dog was probably just as 19to it as I am to my dogs," says Ehlers. "If it had been my dog, I'd hope that somebody would be 20to go that extra mile."

The snow trapped Taylor, but taco sauce (卷饼酱) saved his life. It all began last Sunday when Taylor, along with his dog, went to get gas for his 1, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Taylor told the police his car got 2 in the snow. After some time, he then 3   and woke up on Monday finding 4 more snow, unable to get out of the vehicle (车辆). He tried to 5 out on Monday, but the snow was too deep and made it 6 to go on foot so he and his dog 7 to the vehicle.

By Wednesday, a 8 person's announcement was put out for Taylor, according to a report. Over the next few days 9 he was trapped in the snow, Taylor told the police he stayed 10 by "starting his car from time to time. He 11 some of the taco sauce he had as food".

On Friday, a skater called 911 saying they had 12 Taylor. The office soon sent a construction truck to 13 out Taylor and his dog. The officers said they were just "hungry after being stuck in the 14 for five days". Taylor was 15 to who helped him and determined to help others as possible as he could in future.